That's Called Courting?
by Simple-Minded Idiot
Summary: There's a school legend that if someone trips on a can that you put in the hallway where the principal's office is, that person's your “soul mate.” Enter Naruto who's hoping to trip his pink haired crush. But things don't go as planned... [NaruSasu]
1. Hopeless Romantic or Dead Meat?

Chapter 1 -- Hopeless Romantic or Dead Meat?

Uzumaki Naruto was your everyday junior high school student. He got decent scores sometimes, and the other times, he would get scores that were below decent. There were days when he felt like he was the king of the world. On some days, he would feel as if everyone was stepping on him. Or, as his friend and upperclassman, Hyuuga Neji, would say, "fate was against him." He was pretty social and had lots of friends which he hung out with quite often. He chatted on the Internet. He bought the occasional magazine that should never ever be seen by children lest they wanted to taint their minds. And, most of all, he had a crush. Though it might be more accurate to call it an obsession.

Haruno Sakura was his class's president. She had shoulder-length pink hair and bright green eyes. She was charismatic. The fact that her fists packed a pretty powerful punch made her even more... charismatic, if not rather threatening. She was quite friendly, too. She was at the top of their class. She had been studying ballet since she was eight. She had a voice coach. She had the most beautiful smile. She was very popular and a lot of guys asked her on dates everyday. But no guy was as devoted as Naruto and some senior named Rock Lee.

Naruto asked her on a date five times each day. His first proposal was during homeroom, second would be on recess, third would be on lunchtime, and fourth would be during dismissal time. The fifth time was sometime during classes and it was made through the PA system, suggesting that he'd gotten sent to the Principal's Office. It happened every single day. It was actually a surprise that he hadn't gotten suspended or expelled with the troubles that he made everyday.

It just so happened that in their school, there was this stupid rumor – though with the amount of students that believed it, it was probably more appropriate to call it a legend – that if one put a can in the hallway where the Principal's Office could be found and someone tripped on the aforementioned can, that person was going to be the soul mate of the one who put the can. The legend had brought together a lot of couples. Although it was unsure if they were still together _after_ high school.

As fatalistic as he was, Neji did not believe stuff like _soul mates_, contrary to what Naruto said and what his fan club thought.

Naruto, on the other hand, was a hopeless romantic and fully believed in the concept of soul mates, or perhaps it was only because he'd become so desperate at earning Sakura's ever-elusive heart. Well, whatever the reason was, he decided to _test_ the legend today – it was a Monday. He was hoping (against all hope, but nobody would dare tell him that) that the one who would trip on his can was Sakura.

Tripping on a can was hard. Naruto thought that that was why the person who would trip on it was someone who really was meant for the person who put the can on the hallway in the first place. He knew that Sakura was made for him. Surely she would trip on the can. Well, that might also hurt, but it was all for the sake of love! Once she found out that it was him who did it, she would forgive him because she was just that nice.

Naruto was so excited. He put the can during lunchtime. It was on a horizontal position. It had taken him quite some time to make it stop moving, but he did it. He would be able to do anything if it was for love and for Sakura. Reasonably, of course, because he had some logical friends that would make him think about it.

Not a lot of people were on the hallways, especially this one, during lunchtime so he knew that if she came across this hallway at this time _and_ tripped on the can, they really were meant to be together. His friends had told him to give it up before they went outside to enjoy their lunches. They knew that he would come around sometime. Or at least they endlessly hoped and wished that he would. There were lots of fish in the sea of students. At least there were some fish that would actually consider going out with him. Neji's endlessly timid cousin, Hinata, would be an example.

So Naruto waited and waited and waited. After fifteen minutes, he began to felt the pangs of hunger. There was still no Sakura in sight. What if his friends had been right? What if he and Sakura really weren't meant to be together? He had found out long ago when not given his ramen during the appropriate periods of eating – basically when during the times when someone was supposed to eat : breakfast and such – he became quite the negative thinker. He was in deep distress. His ramen or his love? His ramen or his Sakura? Who or what would he choose?

Ramen had always been by his side. Hell, he'd been named after a ramen topping. But then there was sweet Sakura. Sure, she'd never really done anything for and to him, but the sight of her just made him feel happier and made him more alive. Perhaps it was possible to love both of them at the same time? Naruto shook his head of those _evil_ thoughts. He would only stick to one! He was a one-person man. Not that ramen was a person or that he had ever been in any sort of romantic relationship before. The latter was because he had always been chasing after Sakura since time immemorial – this could also be said to be his grade school days.

In most of his friends' opinion, love made him stupider than the usual, though even they didn't have the heart to say that to him. Okay, so maybe they did. As cruel as it sounded, Naruto's wooing of Sakura gave them a lot of entertainment.

Naruto was soon pulled out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps. He didn't know why but he'd always had excellent hearing. The footsteps made him excited. That was Sakura, for sure! It could be nobody else. Now was the time to see the truth. And he was sure that the truth wouldn't disappoint him. People had always said that the truth set others free, right? That should apply to him, too. He could finally be at peace and not worry that Sakura would end up being with someone else other than him. He felt tears gather at the edge of his eyes. After all of his hard work... she would finally see him.

He knew he was being overly melodramatic, but still! This was quite of an achievement. He was actually a little bit surprised at how things were turning out because they usually didn't go his way--

And it seemed as if they never would. He damned Fate the way Neji did.

It was not Sakura's footsteps. She was nowhere in sight. There was only a boy carrying a lot of books, probably on an errand from some teacher. Luckily, there was still some time. He could stop that boy. It had, as said before, taken him quite a while to make the can still. He wouldn't let all of his effort of arranging the can in a perfect manner go to waste.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Naruto was thinking somewhere along the lines of didn't someone once say that the truth hurt? Well, he now had proof that that saying was actually quite true. So abysmally, dismayingly true.

"Hey, you!" he shouted.

The guy looked at him, a frown on his face, but he wasn't stopping. Naruto was beginning to panic. His hard work! His... seventeen minutes and counting of lunch without ramen! Of _life_ without ramen! Ramen's patience and sacrifices would not be put in vain if he could help it!

"Stop right there!" he said.

By the time he said that, the guy had already reached the can. With the luck that Naruto had with things like those... the guy slipped on the can. He stepped on it and it rolled away. His foot had slipped and then he fell. The books fell on him, too. Though with the way things were, Naruto guessed that the guy had worse luck than him having all of those stuff piled on him.

Then the things that had just happened hit Naruto like a truck. The can that had a small dent on it that was rolling away and just managed to fall off the stairs, soft clinking following it as it bounced through each step. The guy on the floor that was slowly sitting up and caressing his head, mostly likely checking for injuries. The books on the floor. Did that mean...? Did that mean that this guy was his _soul mate_?! He began to hyperventilate. No way in hell. That guy wasn't Sakura. He was nowhere near her!

First off, he was a _guy_. Sakura was a girl, a pretty girl at that. He had dark-colored hair. She had bright and nicely pink, albeit it was quite an unusual color, hair. He had dark-colored eyes. She had _bright_ and green eyes. And of course, he was glaring at him. She would never ever glare at him... at least with that intensity–

Oh, _shit_! The guy was glaring at him and was now standing! Now Naruto was really hyperventilating. If he had been any lesser being, or if he wasn't already having breathing problems, he would've peed in his pants for sure.

"You moron!" the guy exclaimed.

Naruto gulped, sheepishly laughed, and scratched the back of his head in the same sheepish manner. When that didn't pacify the guy, he began running as if there were a pack of dogs after him. But when he saw the angry and slightly crazed look in the other boy's eyes, he began to think that maybe being chased after dogs was much better.

A lot of screaming was soon heard.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke wasn't usually this openly hot-tempered. Today was just a particularly crappy day. His fans had been extra rabid and Hatake Kakashi – the guy was his supposed guardian, but on his opinion, it seemed as if he was the man's guardian – had been more annoying than the usual. There was also another reason. Something that nobody would've ever suspected except for Kakashi. His brother, his dearest older brother, had forgotten to send him an e-mail the night before. 

It had been an unwritten rule between the two Uchihas that they would always exchange mails, even if they were short in content, every single day ever since Itachi went to England to pursue his studies. Sure it was a somewhat cute and, in fangirlese, _waffy_ or _fluffy_, way of showing just how much they cared for the other and such, but it was only to be expected. After all, they only had each other. And Kakashi. But the thing was, Itachi was only Sasuke's living immediate relative.

This was the first time Sasuke's brother failed to send him a mail. He was really trying to be as positive as he could, but it wasn't working. The only reason he could come up was that his brother had forgotten. Itachi had never ever been hassled by homework before and finished them quickly with a flourish. Not to mention he was somewhat paranoid and he also took great care of himself so he couldn't have been caught in an accident.

Because if he was and he still wasn't dead, Sasuke would personally kill him for making him worry so much.

The point was... Itachi had forgotten about _him_. He was sorely suffering from that and was licking his wounds. He decided that instead of moping around, he should let out his sadness in a different way. _Anger_ had been this different way. So far he hadn't killed anyone...

Well at least that was before he got asked by Kakashi, who was also his Literature teacher, to give back ten absurdly thick books which the latter had borrowed from the library a week ago. Kakashi had ushered him outside with the books in his arms before he could protest. Though Kakashi wasn't the one whom he seriously wanted to kill. That was commonplace. No, it was the guy he met on the way to the library. The blond guy who shouted for him to stop and distracted him from paying attention to his surroundings, thus making him slip on some conveniently – far too convenient in his opinion – near can.

And so, that was why he was acting not like his usual calm and cool self. He was far from it right now. In fact, he was chasing after the blond with a look that would make any criminal, murderer to be more specific, proud. He was going to unleash all of his anger on that stupid blond.

* * *

Uchiha Itachi felt a cold tingle shoot up his spine. It must be the air-conditioning system of the plane. Even though he'd spent a few good years in England and had lived most of his life on Japan, he was unaccustomed to the cold. He loathed it. It was so funny because a lot of people described him as a cold man. 

He hadn't been able to e-mail his little brother yesterday. He let a small smile, barely noticeable really, creep on his face. He knew that Sasuke was probably making everyone else's life hell. That was just how his brother was. Ah, well. The boy would probably be happier at having the real person by his side. He was finally coming home after five years of absence.

Soon enough, he sneezed.

* * *

Apparently, the answer is "_Dead Meat_."

* * *

Thank you for taking the time to read this. 

Please comment if you've found any mistake. Any mistake at all. Except, perhaps, for OOC characters. If they're OOC, it's either intentional or I know about it and just can't manage to fix it. I also want to know what people think about what I've written or whether my writing style (whatever it may be) is nice. Basically, just comment on whatever you might think is... worthy of a comment, good or bad.

This story is partially a response to **Kaikouken**'s comment on me writing angst-ridden NaruSasuNaru (despite writing humor for GaaSasu). In this story, I'll also be trying to fix the way I write Sasuke usually. Try. I hope that I don't make him far too much of an uke (compared to the other things that I've written...).

I also want to thank **Lisea18** for her encouragement and 'lol's.


	2. Preference or Decadence?

Edited once again on the following day... which, if my calendar senses aren't off, should be May 7. Edited due to the questionable position of Naruto's head. Was it the back or was it the front? Thanks to **Kaikouken** for that one. Added some things, too. On Kakashi's part. Nothing much, though.

* * *

Chapter 2 – Preference or Decadence? 

Sasuke took a bite of his mint chocolate – the minty taste made him remember his toothpaste; besides that was the only sugarless (he took good care of his teeth) ice cream flavor that the parlor had which he could stomach down (god knew how much he loathed strawberry-flavored things) – ice cream with a frown on his face as the part of the universe known as The Ice Cream Parlor In Front Of Sasuke's School seemed to revolve around him. Wait, he was wrong. A sentence redo then. He took a bite of his mint chocolate ice cream with a _scowl_ on his face as the part of the universe known as The Ice Cream Parlor In Front Of Sasuke's School _revolved_ around him.

It wasn't that the ice cream parlor _seemed _to revolve around him. There was no doubt about it. The ice cream parlor _did_ revolve around him. And that thing on his face wasn't just a frown. A frown was far too petty to describe it. It was a scowl.

Most of the patrons were staring – or maybe he would soon be calling it _stalking_ since they had some sort of fiery determination (desperation, really) glinting in their eyes; there was a twenty-five percent chance that they would follow him outside of the ice cream parlor (he really loved statistics) – and gawking at him.

Would someone clearly remind him why he was here again? He didn't like going out of his house – especially if he went to places near their school since that would mean that there was a forty percent chance that someone actually knew him and would attempt to converse with him while knowing his name... or try to drown in their drool (he hoped that they would kill themselves while doing the latter) – because when he did, people tended to stare at him and some even _followed_ him. They had no reason to do so. It wasn't as if he looked dirty or that he looked funny. He checked himself for even the least bit of dust before he went out of his house.

Sasuke had never noticed that he had been graced by utmost beauty and a kick-ass cold aura that just screamed attention. Simply put, he got more attention by not wanting it. Poor him. If only he knew that by being the ice prince that he was made people want him even more, he would've stopped being like that. Then again, perhaps he would think that not even the disappearance of his (rabid) fans was not worthy of him lowering himself to act like a buffoon. He may not be vain in the narcissistic sense, but he was rather proud. He had long ago learned to tolerate his fans' shameful behavior.

He really did think that it was shameful. He didn't like the way they mobbed around him – though if it had been any other person that was in his stead, they would've loved it; then again, he'd never been a normal person that craved for a lot of people's attention – and pestered him almost every single second of the day. He had long ago abandoned telling them to leave him alone. They were just that stupidly persistent that they couldn't understand even that. Heck, he'd even translated it for them in fifteen different languages in case they couldn't understand English. Or Japanese, in his case.

It looked like it was his freaking fate to suffer under the hands of shallow idiots who didn't even know who he really was. He wasn't just some pretty face that topped their batch every single time. He was more than that. Couldn't they see it? Well, if they couldn't, he wasn't going to waste his breath on them. They should find out for themselves.

Anyway, it was time to burst his little angst bubble. No need to scare away the other customers because of his bad mood. This ice cream parlor wasn't something his family owned. It would be impolite to bring bad luck into an establishment. He had been raised with manners, too. And business etiquette.

Oh, right. He now remembered why he was here. For two weeks, he was supposed to spend some _quality time_ with the idiot – also known as the _revered _troublemaker Uzumaki Naruto – that almost made his skull split into two as some form of twisted detention with his perv of a guardian as their _overseer_. Kakashi wasn't even watching what they did. He was sitting in a (dark and ominous-looking) corner reading a fine and _decent _piece of literature. Like hell. The day he read decent literature was the day the apocalypse came. Or the day he actually came to class early. The chances of the latter happening was lower than doomsday happening any second now.

Sasuke liked to call it erotica or, when he was in his bad days and Kakashi was being even more of a prick than he already was, porn. Sometimes, he would shout the word out loud for the whole world to hear. That usually resulted in Kakashi being stared at by their neighbors.

Why, then, an ice cream parlor? Because Naruto worked there, that was why. He was what many would call a working student. Others would indecently call him _penniless filth that didn't deserve to live and have a home_. Yeah, but they only called him that when they knew that he was going to beat them up bad. And, yes, he did indulge in school and gang fights. He had never been beaten up to a pulp ever. Well, at least that was before _he_ met Uchiha Sasuke. In fact, he had so many memories of their first meeting which he wished would disappear quickly.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke.

He had known about the name Uchiha Sasuke for a long time now. Yesterday had just been the first time he actually saw the guy. He had always thought that Sasuke was some ugly guy. It was only natural of him to think of the other like that. Rumor had it that Sakura, his dear Sakura, was in love with the guy after all. So he loathed Uchiha Sasuke even without seeing him. But it wasn't as if that changed a thing. Well, sure, at least now he learned that the guy wasn't ugly – far from it, but his ego would be utterly deflated if he admitted that (to himself and to other people). The point was that he still hated him after seeing him. It was in that way that nothing changed.

Their first meeting wasn't a good one. Who could blame him?

Sasuke, like what the rumors said, was freaking rich. He had the good life. His cellphone was of a black and dark blue color. It was very shiny and smooth (Naruto deduced the last one from how it looked). It seemed more expensive than Naruto's rent for seven months. It also had an accessory that was tied to it. It was a small chain with a... stuffed tomato on it. It looked cute. Yes, and that was wrong. Sasuke wasn't supposed to have cute things (except perhaps his face and Naruto was_ so_ not thinking about that)Naruto would've laughed and pointed it out if it wasn't for the fact that he knew just how powerful Sasuke's left hook was and how... nut-breaking his kicks were.

Yes, Sasuke had actually kicked Naruto in the nuts – with such a precision that the victim thought that it was impossible for it to be just an accident – during their scuffle. At least Naruto would call it a scuffle. Or perhaps he wouldn't. His vocabulary wasn't that high when it came to non-street terminology. And Sasuke sure wouldn't be one who would admit to their fight being a _scuffle_. Scuffles were disorderly and he did not engage in this such as those. He was far too much of an Uchiha.

Maybe Naruto would ask him _politely_ when they were in a more secluded place. Yeah, like that would happen.

The sleek, black car that was parked outside also belonged to the bastard who was a student driver – but Kakashi was usually the one who drove it. That was a model that Naruto had never ever seen before and that would be saying a lot because he was partially obsessed with cars. Partially only because it was nowhere near his obsession with the color orange, even more so with ramen.

He had been inside the car. He reluctantly admitted inside his head – he'd be caught dead before he said that out loud – that it looked awesome. It was black everything. It seemed to suit Sasuke so he really didn't have qualms about that one. The stereo set was shiny in all of its mighty darkness. Its knobs and buttons looked enticing, too. The seats were covered by black leather. The steering wheel was also covered by some sort of black leathery cloth. The windows were dark-tinted, too.

Personally, Naruto thought that it looked way too clean and orderly and _blank_. But, hey, it looked cool, too. It was just so empty and lacking of a real personality that would identify what kind of person the driver was. Aside from being a rich person, of course. The car seemed so abysmally sad for him. Or maybe it was just because Sasuke was in it. The latter had those angst vibes hanging around him. It made Naruto how people could even like him. It was just so odd.

Then again, Sasuke was really handsome. But was that enough of a factor to base one's feelings? Naruto felt that he would be saddened if people liked him only because he looked good. Did Sasuke feel the same way? He then shook his heads of these thoughts. He was starting to sound like some old man. Not to mention he was actually starting to feel _sorry_ for Sasuke. Which was something that that bastard didn't deserve.

Naruto internally sighed. Stupid bastard was making him think even more. That was something he didn't need right now. He needed his head clear because they had a big Math test the next day. He'd probably need to pull an all-nighter just to pass it.

Yes, he was awful with Math. He hated the subject with a passion. It was somewhat funny because he lived with a Math teacher that taught in the junior high sector of Naruto's school. Oh the irony. Iruka made him work on Math sheets – Naruto preferred to call them Math shits; of course, he only referred to them as that when Iruka was nowhere in sight – every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Umino Iruka was obviously the aforementioned Math teacher. He was pretty strict but he was also probably one of the kindest teachers out there. Kind yet strict. If every other teacher was like him, the world would probably be better. Or not. It depended on the situation, really. Perhaps even on the student.

Naruto thought that he was pretty cool. And even though he loathed those Math exercises, they did help a lot. Sure, he hadn't been turned into some sort of Math genius, but he was gradually getting better every time he worked on them. He was sure that by the end of his high school days, he would be a competent Mathematician. Though that was only going to happen if all went smoothly. He sighed at that. Yeah, if all went smoothly. Lately, although it did start just yesterday, his luck had been leaving him to fend off the world by himself.

Or maybe Sasuke was more than just a gloom-bringer. Perhaps he also brought bad luck or he sucked someone's good luck. Naruto was a very lucky person in things that weren't related to love in any way as mentioned before. Quite lucky indeed. And he wanted his luck back, thank you very much. It was what made him get higher than normal scores during multiple-choice and match-the-correct-answers tests. It was the foundation of his education! His future depended on his luck. Hell, he might even get into a decent university, if he didn't decide that he'd already had enough of schooling by that time, because of that.

Though Naruto was pretty sure that he would want to be a college student. Sakura wanted to go to college, after all. And he would follow her no matter what and where she would go! Because he was just that dedicated. Because he was just that in love with her. Because he wanted her to know that his feelings were really sincere.

Why couldn't she see that? Why was the only person that she could see was that bastard who didn't give a fuck about her? Naruto was starting to get the feeling that Neji's words were more right than both of them could've ever guessed. Fate was truly a sadistic bitch. Naruto also had the feeling that maybe he should've listened to his friend's preaches about Fate. Maybe Neji happened to say how to counter Fate in one of those apparently meaningful speeches of his.

Naruto felt more of an idiot than ever. Duh. It was already obvious that Neji was all-knowing. Naruto wondered if he could go to Neji's house and if he could make the boy say everything that he knew about Fate. The cookies that Hinata, Neji's younger cousin and Naruto's friend, made were also a bonus.

He had never in his life guessed why the girl was always red and always stuttered. He never knew that it was around him that she became redder than the usual and stuttered more than the usual either. Thus, he began thinking about another topic because he knew that, for all of his life, he would never be able to understand women... except perhaps Sakura because they were, after all, soul mates. Even though he did not get to trip the pink-haired beauty – instead, he got her supposed raven-haired idol – he still firmly believed that they were meant to be together. Because he was Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Naruto did not give up!

Besides, it was just a school legend, nothing more and nothing less, right? A legend had a fifty percent chance of being not true. And, duh! It was something that Neji didn't believe in despite being said to bring together two people that were meant to be together. Neji's fate sensors were infallible.

The topic that Naruto chose was... would being around the bastard also ensure that he would think a lot? Hopefully not. Thinking was so stressing. He didn't even know why he was still thinking despite thinking that thinking was something stressing; it was like something was screaming at him to think – even if Kyuubi, his oh-so wonderful imaginary friend (or an inner old coot of a sadistic demon that stated that he was thousands of years old), was bored and decided that he would get his amusement from making Naruto freak out by thinking far too much, it still wasn't enough of an excuse for him to tamper with Naruto's mind... at least that was what Naruto thought. If good ol' Nara Shikamaru, the lazy president of their neighboring class, was here, he would've said that the whole thing was troublesome. Naruto backed at that thought. Didn't Shikamaru like to think?

Naruto decided that he should stop thinking when he just tripped on his own shoelaces. Thinking usually meant that something bad was going to happen to him. That or he was going to get financial troubles. Which was quite true. The glass set that he'd just ruined cost more than one thousand yen. Anything more than one thousand yen meant a lot to his pocket. Especially on this month. He and Iruka took turns with paying the rent due to his... persistence to help Iruka. And it just so happened that it was his turn to pay the rent, too!

Sasuke had been wondering for quite a while if the loser was constipated because he sure looked like it. Or maybe it was because he was thinking. Sasuke had pegged Naruto as the 'wing it' type of person. The kinds of people that rarely thought at all so that when they did think, they looked funny or sounded funny.

His impression of Naruto had considerably lowered when the idiot tripped on his own shoelaces, which he didn't notice were _untied_, and broke two glass bowls and one long glass cup. It seemed as if everything that Naruto did made him look even more of a moron than he usually was. Which would be saying a lot because in Sasuke's – and perhaps for a considerable amount of other people – mind... Naruto was already a total moron.

Sasuke had known the name Uzumaki Naruto for quite a while. The people described him as someone annoying and excessively bright during the time they didn't wear their uniform (no, he wasn't bright in the sense that he was smart). Sasuke now knew why they referred to him as that. The guy really was annoying, no doubt about that. Sasuke had never met anyone who could rile him so easily. In fact, Naruto could get him so angry that it would show on his face. Normally, he would all just keep it inside and plan his vengeance on the poor soul (or poor souls) that angered him. And he could get back at them in almost every possible way without him getting blamed for it. Of course, his revenge didn't come in the form of bullying or the classic locker wrecking. His revenge was more than that. What exactly was his revenge and how did he carry that out? That was an Uchiha – which Kakashi happened to know but kept his mouth shut because, frankly, it really didn't involved him; why should he care if the students in the school that he taught in were getting mentally beaten-up? He sure wouldn't get a pay raise if he told them what was happening – secret.

But of course, Sasuke was someone who was _normally_ hard to anger. He usually only acted if he really was angry at the person. The people that angered him usually deserved what they got in the end anyway. Well, most of the time.

Naruto was different though. God, just looking at the idiot made Sasuke want to pummel him. He was the epitome of sheer stupidity in Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke himself didn't know why he was being so overacting over Naruto. It was just so _odd_. It was as if there was something about that boy that made Sasuke hate him so much.

Maybe the blond's choice of clothing also added to Sasuke's irritation, thus making him more, well, irritated at the aforementioned blond. Seriously, what _sane_ person gifted would good eyesight walk out of their homes with a blindingly orange jumpsuit? Naruto _had_ to be color blind. Which was very possible since men were more prone to be color blind than women.

Sasuke was most definitely thankful for the fact that... they wore uniforms. Unfortunately for him, Naruto didn't like their uniform (be it the one for the cold seasons or for the warm seasons) – because it was all dark and stuff and he thought that it cramped his _style_, whatever it may be (Sasuke really didn't want to know what the hell was the idiot's style)_ –_ and quickly changed out of it before they went to his part-time job.

Sasuke had actually thought that his eyes were burning when he saw Naruto come racing out of the apartment building, which looked rather shabby to Sasuke, wearing that outfit. An orange-and-black jumpsuit and black sneakers. It was at that moment when Sasuke pondered whether he should demand the ice cream parlor, along with every other place that Naruto worked at, to make uniforms for their employees.

Kakashi had only chuckled when he saw the horrified expression on the Prince of Darkness's face.

Aside from being visually impaired when it came to colors, having a weird sense of fashion (or lack of it), being annoying and being an idiot twenty-four-seven (which Sasuke personally thought had to be something hard to do... or maybe it was just him), Naruto also seemed rather clumsy. Endearingly clumsy. And, no, Sasuke did not think that. He did not just think about that.

Having inner voices was clichéd, not to mention Sasuke didn't like the idea of having the feeling as if there was someone else inside of him, so he did not have a voice in his head that was teasing him about the blondie that managed to rouse him. Rouse as in to become agitated. Nope. Sasuke did not have voices inside of his head. There was already enough noise outside of his head to compensate for the one (or perhaps one_s_) that he didn't have inside his head.

Though Sasuke did have to admit that the blond did have some looks that could warrant a girl or two's attention on him. Sasuke wished that one of the girls that the blond's somewhat good looks could capture was Haruno Sakura who was one of his rabid fans. If Naruto also managed to snag Yamanaka Ino's attention, Sasuke would be more than happy to do whatever the blond wanted him to do. With reason, of course.

Sasuke watched as Naruto apologized nonstop to the man who owned the ice cream parlor, saying that he would pay the things that he broke a month from now. Sasuke sure didn't know what was the problem with paying those things right now. They were cheap after all. He had more than enough money in his wallet to pay that.

Perhaps Naruto was just poor. Sasuke internally shook his head. Naruto _was_ poor, no doubt about that. Sasuke was no idiot. Almost anybody could deduce Naruto's social standing by looking at the amount of part-time jobs he had (Naruto had told Sasuke his schedule because they were, after all, supposed to spend time together after they were dismissed from school). Not to mention there was also what the apartment building of where he lived in looked like.

Sasuke looked at his watch. Five more minutes before the idiot's shift ended.

For some reason, he almost felt sad and empty at that. Those were feelings that he shouldn't feel because, well, wasn't he irritated at blondie?

* * *

Naruto let out a sigh of relief as he stepped out of the ice cream parlor with Kakashi and Sasuke in tow. He could finally go home now. Maybe a trip to the convenient store first. It was time to go get his dearest ramen from the racks. Before he could continue his wonderful dreams filled of himself, ramen, and him eating ramen, he heard his name being screamed. He turned his head to the direction of the voice with a grin, thinking that it was a friend or something. 

"NARUTO! YOU STILL HAVEN'T GIVEN ME BACK MY ONE THOUSAND YEN!" a woman screamed.

Naruto's eyes comically widened to the size of dinner plates. That was the lady that he borrowed one thousand yen from so that he could buy that super limited ramen flavors of Ichiraku's Instant Ramen... which eventually became regular ramen flavors. Shit.

He'd been trying to avoid her all this time. He'd been trying to avoid her for... three months. He still hadn't the amount of money that she borrowed from her. Not to mention he also didn't have the heart to ask money from Iruka.

He knew what he could do. Escape. Thank the lord that the bastard had a car. He could think up of the perfect getaway. Good thing the woman was a good few minutes worth of running away from them. Enough time to get away.

"Open the door quickly!" Naruto said in a panicked voice.

Kakashi, who knew the wrath of an angry woman, quickly unlocked the car's doors. She had seen him with Naruto and would assume that he would be liable of whatever the brat did. Sasuke merely blinked, obviously not phased at all.

Unfortunately for him, yet again, Naruto was phased. Naruto opened the door of the car, grabbed Sasuke by the collar, and tossed the boy inside the car, then he jumped inside the car himself and closed the door. By that time, Kakashi was already in front of the steering wheels. He twisted the car key and... off they went, leaving a small cloud of smoke in their wake and a furious woman that was probably screaming her lungs out.

Naruto had escaped her perfectly manicured clutches again. Damn that boy. When would she ever get her one thousand yen?

Perhaps one would take the moment to ponder... why didn't the woman report Naruto to the police or perhaps even call his home and that what exactly was the woman's relation to Naruto. Because the woman's own home phone was something like a pay phone. It charged her by the minute. She also didn't happen to have a cellphone. She didn't go to the police because she loathed them and completely didn't trust them which was quite natural. Not to mention she wasn't on good terms with the local police. Her sister had more than often served some jail time, too. And her relation to Naruto? She used to be his teacher when he was in the ninth grade. She really was a nice woman... What was her name? Suzume Namida.

Naruto let his eyes close, let out a sigh of relief, and then let the front of his head rest on the seat. Or he _would_ have been able to rest his head on the seat if it wasn't for something that blocked his head. Soft.

Sasuke's eyes were wide. So, so wide.

Kakashi was secretly -- of course, it was no secret to him, but it would be to the other occupants of the car because of obvious reasons, such as the places they were sitting or, for Naruto and Sasuke's sakes, lying on -- smirking in the driver's seat as he adjusted the mirror even more so that he could see more of the... action that was happening or was going to happen at the back.

This day had surely been an interesting one.

* * *

"We're sorry for the inconvenience!" an airport employee said. 

"We'll make sure to find your baggage by today!" another employee said.

They were all quivering in fear at that blank stare that the man was giving them. Not good news. Especially if the man that was staring blankly at them was Uchiha Itachi, the man who was going to run all of the Uchiha businesses in one more year. It just so happened that this airport was owned by the Uchihas.

Itachi really didn't know what had gone wrong. Or who in the world would get his bags. It wasn't as if he used expensive-looking bags (but were still rather expensive bags). His baggage had most likely just been lost. What a bunch of incompetent fools.

Well, he sure couldn't go home without his baggage. In one of those bags was his souvenirs for Sasuke and Kakashi.

He was finally in his homeland. Simply put and without any melodramatic special effects, he was back in Japan.

* * *

The answer for the question seems rather blurry. But it does seem as if it's tipping to _Preference_.

* * *

Thank you for reading this. I really would like to thank the people who reviewed, read, and fav'd this and also put it on their alerts. I seriously didn't think that it would be this... much loved. Ah, thank you so much! 

Thank you especially to **Kaikouken** who helped me in making this chapter and also helped in getting me out of the angst bubble I was in while writing this midway (or, well, near the beginning), and **Lisea18** who commented on it beforehand (also acting as my confidence booster because I lack it) and in giving the 'lol's.

I hope that people still will comment on this. Please do point out any mistakes, if I've made any of them, and tell me what you think of this chapter (if it's less humorous than the first one... which I am sure of).

_Pay in mind that no airport staff members were harmed in the making of this chapter. If anything, they seemed to be rather willing to be around Itachi._


	3. Strike One or Round One?

Edited once again on May 12 (the day after the release). Also added some stuff on Kakashi again.

* * *

Chapter 3 – Strike One or Round One? 

_Doki. Doki. Dokin._

Time had stilled for a moment. They momentarily forgot where they were or who else was in the vicinity. They forgot what they thought of the other before. For a moment, they broke away from the material world. For a moment, they lost themselves. Anything could happen in a few seconds. Could a heart be moved in only a few seconds? A romantic would've said that moments like these were equivalent to _forever_, but neither of them were romantics anyway.

_Doki. Doki. Dokin._

Soft. That was, indeed, the first thing that registered in Naruto's head. The next would be smooth, and then cold. Cool to be more exact. It felt nice. The coolness of Sasuke's lips. In that drop of water in the ocean of his life known as a second, he forgot about Sakura. Surprisingly enough, it had been quite easy to forget about her. He also forgot that he was supposed to hate Sasuke.

_Doki. Doki. Dokin._

It was a warm presence on his lips for sure. It was chapped and the small bits of skin irritated him a bit, but he was alright with it. Elegance was always around him. This was a nice change but... Sasuke didn't know what to do. Didn't know what to say. Didn't know what to feel. Should he feel something? Should he say something? Should he do something? It was the first time he had someone who wasn't from his family – yes, Kakashi was included in his family – this close to him. This was the first time he... he kissed someone on the lips. Or rather, that someone kissed him on the lips. On the lips.

All of a sudden, the world came crashing down on Sasuke.

Naruto! That stupid idiot had stolen his lip virginity! His _lip_ virginity! That had been something he'd been saving for that special person... Of course, he didn't want to admit that out loud or even come to terms with. Uchiha Sasuke was no romantic. But still! This was his lip virginity they were talking about! And he had given it to a total moron! Hell, he didn't even care about gender anymore. He was thinking about the brains of someone. Sasuke had never given much thought to anything but the capabilities of someone. How smart they were and how powerful they were. And... what kind of a person they were.

Okay, so _sure_, the idiot was a kind person. But he was bright and _loud_. He wore _orange_ for the love of all that is dark and not blinding! He was like some sort of fucked-up Power Ranger. A freaking _Power Ranger_! Sasuke could still remember that series. The live version of it. The one with the obviously fake monsters and the horrid SPFX that easily made him cringe even though he was around... five or something years old when he watched it. Of course, that would mean that his brother just walked out of the room when the characters first started speaking.

Itachi had amazing psychic powers when it came to shows. He instantly knew what were good and bad. Then again, wasn't he really psychic?

Naruto, then, would be the Orange Power Ranger. The Orange Ranger.

And Sasuke had actually liked Orange Range.

With those in mind, he pushed Naruto away and then bit his lower lip fiercely. He glared at Naruto whose head acquainted with the hard window of the car and who had, all of a sudden, remembered what had transpired between them and had immediately scrubbed his lips with the sleeve of his orange jumpsuit.

Yes, Naruto's preferred color was just _that_ cool that it had to be the center of attention at some point and time.

"What the hell was that?!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"I don't know! You tell me, bastard!" Naruto retorted.

"How should I know, you dumbass? You were the one who came onto me!"

"For the love of–! You make it sound as if I _raped_ you or something!"

"Didn't you do something pretty damn near it a few moments ago?!"

"I just _kissed_ you!"

"_Just_?! So you mean to tell me that it doesn't mean anything and that you go around _casually_ kissing people on the fucking _lips_?!"

Kakashi swerved the car to the left. Aw. How sweet. Barely five seconds had passed yet the two were already on their second lovers' quarrel.

Yes, Kakashi counted their _friendly_ fight in the hallway as a lovers' quarrel.

The two of them looked so _cute_. He just loved in denial and minor-aged couples. Kakashi wasn't into shota-con stuff -- no, he did not do little boys because they were _inexperienced_ and healthy males like him needed experienced lovers (or bed-buddies) to fulfill them (and their raging libidos) -- ... okay, so maybe just a bit... fine, so he was into the stuff, and _sure_, he openly loved shota-con stuff; not that anybody cared or anything and as if there weren't far too many underage yaoi lovers already.

They were so nice to tease, too. It sure was going to be fun teasing Sasuke and this Uzumaki kid. Then again, maybe he shouldn't tease the Uzumaki kid about this. Once Itachi got wind of the fact that there might be a possibility that his dearest little brother was _falling in love_ – or crushing at the very least – with someone, he'd go ballistic on his brother's object of affections. Itachi should be enough weight on the kid's shoulders. Kakashi actually pitied Uzumaki.

Okay, so maybe he didn't, but still, he could pretend that he did. Frankly, he thought that it would be fun to watch Itachi go psycho on someone. It was always fun to see the stoic older Uchiha threaten someone to leave his little brother alone until they peed in their pants from the fear.

Though there had been one kid that Itachi hadn't been able to terrify. That kid happened to be Sasuke's best friend who was also just as creepy and overprotective as Itachi. Itachi had stopped trying to terrorize the kid when he deemed that the boy only wanted Sasuke as his friend and nothing more which would be a year before he went abroad. The two were in quite good terms after that. Kakashi would be partially surprised if they weren't. Their thought processes were quite alike, especially when it came to Sasuke and anything related to Sasuke.

Though Kakashi would perfectly understand if the two still hated each other's guts. They were just far too _possessive_.

Suddenly, something popped up in Kakashi's head. The Kaze-kid was just as possessive and overprotective of Sasuke as Itachi. And Kaze-kid also had homicidal tendencies like Itachi, except his were only more noticeable. Add to the fact that the Kaze-kid would be visiting three weeks from now.

Kakashi was sure that he'd be very entertained. Of course, all of this would be at the expense of the Uzumaki-kid. Show no mercy indeed. Now, if anybody had heard his thoughts, they would've never thought that he was a teacher.

"It's not as if I can give you back your kiss or anything! No use crying over spilled milk after all!" Naruto argued. "With the way you're talking, anyone would've said that it was your first kiss or something--"

All of a sudden, there was silence. The truth dawned on Naruto. No shit.

Kakashi thought that Naruto was some sort of _accidentally intelligent_ person. The boy could blabber smart things without even knowing that they were smart.

"Wait. Don't tell me," he said. "Please don't tell me that that was your first kiss."

Sasuke huffed and looked away, trying to hide the small blush that was appearing on his face. There was also a glare stuck on his face. Whether he was angry or not was a debatable issue. Well, at least it would be in Sasuke's head because Uchihas just didn't _do_ embarrassed.

Then he decided to turn the tables to his side.

"What about you, huh?" he sneered. "No being would even come near a fifty meter radius of you, much less kiss you."

Now it was Naruto's turn to be embarrassed or angry or whatever the hell that emotion or feeling was.

"Bastard, for your information, that was my _second_ kiss!" he exclaimed.

Sasuke looked at Naruto and graced the boy with a roll of his eyes. Naruto and kissing just didn't go well together in a sentence.

Naruto, of course, crossed his arms in front of his chest and huffed. Damn Uchiha. Well, it was true. This really was his second kiss. He just couldn't remember who was the person he'd kissed before or what that person looked like. It had been raining that day and he'd been stuck inside the little castle in the park. Though he thought that castle wasn't so little back then. Only expected since he was only around six back then. He didn't exactly remember the details, all he knew was that someone else had been stranded in the rain with him. Their kiss had been an accident, really. It'd happened when the other person made a move to get out once it had stopped raining.

He could also remember that those lips were smooth, too. Not at all like his. He deemed himself lucky that all of the lips he'd kissed seemed to be ones that had been taken good care of. Despite being a prick, Sasuke had nice lips.

"Who'd you kiss?" Sasuke dryly asked. "A dog? Or perhaps even a log given the state of your lips."

Naruto glared at him. Now that was just plain silly. Not to mention quite ego-bursting. His lips were chapped because he just didn't drink a lot of water and other liquids. They definitely weren't chapped because he'd been kissing a _log_. And how in the world was having chapped lips and kissing logs connected? The bastard was making his own logic! Not that Naruto was someone to talk or anything. In the heat of the moment, he just forgot that he, too, had the tendency to make up his own logic.

Though what Sasuke said did have some sort of sense. Kissing logs could result to chapped lips. Logs were naturally, well, rough and bumpy to the touch. Kissing logs would most likely damage someone's lips and could, eventually, lead to chapped lips. But Naruto didn't need to know that. Or, to be more exact, he didn't need to accept the fact that maybe the shit that the bastard was pulling out of his ass (if he managed to get through that stick in there) really was true. Naruto needed to have a reason to be angry after all.

He also would've probably punched Sasuke or did something that would make the bastard feel a lot of pain if it wasn't for the fact that he was seated on the aforementioned bastard's car. He had manners, too. So he just settled with glaring.

Kakashi made another left turn. Things were getting quite interesting. Was Sasuke jealous? Aww... and he was in denial, too. And Uzumaki didn't notice that Sasuke was actually jealous. They really were just the cutest. Kakashi couldn't remember himself having such a _cute_ relationship with anyone. No, he usually had the bend-over-for-me-and-let's-get-this-done kind of relationship. Not at all the most mentally and emotionally healthy of relationships, but, hey, it wasn't as if he or the other party was complaining about it.

"If you were that desperate to brag that you've kissed someone... at least desperate enough to kiss a some_thing_, I'd have to say that you're pathetic," Sasuke continued.

Now that was the last straw.

"I didn't kiss a dog or a log or a whatever!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm scared shitless of dogs, jerkwad, so I can't kiss them. And logs?! What the hell do you think I am?!"

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at that. Internally, he was grinning like an idiot. It was just so _fun_ to rile up this moron. Why hadn't he seen that one before? Oh, maybe because was the one being frustrated all the time. Well, maybe it was time to turn the tables now.

"You're cynophobic?" he asked.

Naruto opened his mouth to angrily retort only to find out that...

"What the hell is cynophobic?" he asked.

... he didn't know what being cynophobic was or entailed.

Never mind that his question sounded wrong. It was something expected since he didn't really know what was the meaning of the word that he was using.

Of course, Sasuke, being the eternally intelligent person that he was, found it rather funny that the idiot didn't know what cynophobia was or couldn't even get it's meaning from context clues. Phobia usually meant _fear_, so the moron just had to connect the dots and he'd get the meaning of cynophobia or being cynophobic.

As if a lot of people did know what cynophobia meant.

"Not everyone can be a genius like you, bastard," Naruto ground out when he saw the amused look on Sasuke's face.

"Oh, so you're admitting that I'm smart and you're not?" Sasuke said.

"I didn't say that I was an idiot, you-you... you _deaf_ person!"

"I'm scared. I wonder what the idiot will do to me. Such an original comeback, too. And you didn't say that you were an idiot. You implied it. And I didn't even say that you said it. I just said that you admitted to it."

The sarcasm was so obvious that even Naruto noticed it. Which might be saying a lot.

"Go win me a court case, why don't cha?!" the offended Naruto shouted.

"I don't intend on becoming a lawyer any time soon as good as I am with verbal banter and as sharp as I am. Law takes a lot of time and, if you haven't noticed it yet, _lawyer_ sounds very much like _liar_," Sasuke said.

Naruto was envious of Sasuke. The guy could pick whatever course he could take. It was just so damn... irritating. He couldn't choose like that. His courses to take when he went to college – of course, that was _if_ he went to college, but, as stated before, it was already for sure that he wold go to college because Sakura would be going to college – were very limited. Though that didn't mean that he would like to take law. He was as averse to the thought as the bastard was.

Law was, as another good friend of his named Nara Shikamaru would say, troublesome. Naruto conveniently forgot that his friend thought that almost every damn thing in the world, except clouds cause they were fluffy and floated and were just... not troublesome, was a lot of trouble or not worthwhile. He simply thought that there were far too many things to remember, far too many complexities (he learned the word from Neji three days ago and instantly thought that it was cool).

"So what _would_ you like to become, Mr. Smartass?" he dryly asked.

He didn't know where the question came from. This was another one of his impulsive actions. This was one of the things that made him Naruto. Sasuke was soon becoming aware of that fact. And he was sure that it wasn't a good thing because he was the type to plan things out meticulously. He thought before he did anything.

Even though he was someone that planned out almost every single thing in his life, Sasuke didn't know how to answer that question. Frankly, he hadn't thought about what he would like to _grow up_ to be. He was great at every subject so that meant that he wasn't limited to just one subject. He could choose anything. Freedom was certainly something suffocating right now. Who knew that having so many choices was hard. He had actually thought that it would make things easier.

Well, luckily for him, he was smart. He'd thought all of those in a split of a second. Naruto didn't even know that there'd been some sort of a conflict going on in his head.

"I want to be who I want to be," he said.

The perfect comeback, that was what he viewed his answer to be. Not to mention that it might aggravate the idiot.

Kakashi made a right turn.

"Oi oi oi! What's that supposed to mean?!" Naruto asked.

It turned out that Sasuke was right. Then again, he was right with most things. As expected of an Uchiha like him.

"It means what it means, dolt," he said. "And don't think too much, it's unbecoming of you."

He smirked at that. Naruto fumed some more. He didn't even know what _unbecoming_ really meant (if he still remembered the word by tomorrow, he'd go and ask Neji because Shikamaru was just far too lazy to explain it to him) and yet he was quite ticked-off by the comment. Maybe it had something to do with that more-superior-than-thou-shalt-ever-be smirk the bastard was donning. Yeah, it definitely had something to do with that.

"You're such a bastard," he snarled.

"You've told me a hundred times," Sasuke said.

They were suddenly immersed in silence. Kakashi made a left turn. Naruto knew that they were near his house now. Better make it worthwhile then. And worthwhile for him meant some noise.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me what I want to be?" he asked.

"Not interested," Sasuke said.

"I don't care, I'm still going to tell you."

"It's not my fault if I don't listen."

"I want to be... a cop! I want to beat up all the bad guys and all that!"

Sasuke blinked. Naruto thought that the bastard was awed by his cool profession. He didn't know why, but he felt his chest puff up with pride.

Then Sasuke covered his mouth and looked away. Naruto soon heard muffled sounds of something. He put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and turned the boy around. He was ticked off when he found out that, no, Sasuke was no amazed. Sasuke was amused. _Amused_! He had the gall to laugh at Naruto and his dream. He'd wanted to be a cop since the day he knew what the word even meant. No, not the meaning associated with _cop a feel_, but the one with the profession.

Fine, Naruto was a pervo, but he had his limits, too.

"What's so funny?" he grumbled.

This bastard was making him feel different sorts of things. From proud to annoyed and then to embarrassed. Naruto now wished that he hadn't said what profession he wanted to indulge in.

Sasuke had now taken off his hand from his mouth at that time. Although there were still the occasional snorts or sniggers or chuckles that escaped. He chose to call it chuckles because snorts and sniggers weren't for Uchihas. His eyes were also slightly crinkled.

Kakashi was amused at both Naruto _and_ Sasuke. Then again, who _wouldn't_ be amused with those two at this point and time?

"You, of course," Sasuke said, still trying to stifle his laughter because it just wasn't Uchiha-like to _laugh_. "You looked so... childish. And your reasoning is rather childish, too."

"What's wrong with beating up bad guys?!" Naruto asked.

It was justice. And justice wasn't something anyone could laugh at so easily.

Sasuke looked serious all of a sudden after Naruto said that.

"You really think that being a cop means that you can go around proclaiming justice and beating the crap out of people who say are bad?" he asked. "Not everyone has the same concept of evil and good. What if the person you thought was bad was actually someone others looked up to, someone that others thought were doing what was right.

"Have you even listened to yourself? Do you even know what you're saying? What if _you_ did something wrong? Then wouldn't you want to be not caught and not beaten up? If you say something, make sure that you'll carry it out no matter what, even if you will get hurt."

"We're already here!" Kakashi cheerfully said.

It was a good thing that he'd interrupted Sasuke. He knew that if things went further, it wouldn't be good for Naruto. And perhaps for Sasuke, too. Talk about cops and justice was something Sasuke had always been touchy to ever since he heard of how...

When Naruto got out of the car and looked at it going into the distance, he couldn't help but think about this ache he was feeling somewhere in his body.

Why? He just wanted to be a cop so that he could protect the people near him. Why was he reconsidering his long-time dream all of a sudden? Why... why could that bastard easily make him change his mind? Why did he suddenly feel _guilty_ and _sorry_?

* * *

"You alright, kiddo?" Kakashi asked. 

"Your father... he... he wasn't wrong," Sasuke said softly.

Kakashi was silent. He looked at the rear view mirror and wasn't surprised to see that Sasuke was clutching the part of his shirt where his heart should be. Even though it was apparent that he was somewhat angry with the Uzumaki kid for taking things so easily, it was also obvious that he couldn't help but feel guilty for making those blue eyes cloud over with regret and sadness.

Kakashi didn't know what to do. He actually felt that it was too soon. Was his little Sasuke falling in love? He smiled. Itachi would have a fit if he learned that. And Itachi would also have his head.

Somehow, he found all of this amusing.

* * *

Itachi looked at the absurdly large, ancient-looking, and eastern-style compound with the walls that stretched from one horizon to the other. The only thing that came close to being modern with it was the car entryway situated somewhere to the far left. He waited for the taxi that had dropped him off there to go before he went through the large gates. Strangers – second cousins, third cousins, his uncles' uncles, and so and so – from his family greeted him. He nodded at all of them though he didn't stop to talk to them. He headed straight for the main house. His house. 

He couldn't say that he was really at home. There was no Sasuke. No Kakashi. He'd wait for them before he went inside. It didn't feel the same if they weren't there even for one minute. It didn't feel right.

* * *

As horrible the ending of this day's encounter may have become, it seems as if the answer to this one is _Strike One_.

* * *

Thank you to all of the reviewers and readers from the last two chapters. And also to the people who put this in their faves and alerts. Thank you also to those who've read this chapter. 

Special thanks to **Kaikouken** who helped in the editing.

Please do comment. They really would be much appreciated. Don't hesitate to point out mistakes. They help me improve after all.

**Serious Author's Notes** : Referring to the chapter title. If you didn't get the difference between _Strike One_ and _Round One_, it's this... Strike One would refer to the fact that, yes, you've made a dent in someone's heart. Round One, on the other hand, would pertain that it's going to be another bout of fighting for you and the other party or parties. And if you must know, _doki_ (and maybe even _dokin_) are manga SFX for heartbeats.


	4. Chummy or Crummy Relations?

Before everything, I'd like to say that I'm very sorry for the very late chapter. Really very sorry!

And I can't even say that the reason was because I was busy because if I was, I wouldn't have been posting stories like some madman.

So... I do hope that this chapter will be enough of an apology.

If it helps... this chapter has fifty percent more characters than the previous chapters!

* * *

Chapter 4 – Chummy or Crummy Relations? 

As soon as he got out of the car, the melancholic air around Sasuke disappeared. Instead of being depressed and broody and all that jazz, he became angry. Yes, angry. He couldn't believe it. Not one bit. He already knew that this _so_ wasn't his week when he hadn't received any mail from his brother at all a few days ago, and now! Now! He had gotten his lips severely-severely... argh! There were no words that could express his opinion on the whole matter. He didn't even _want_ words to express such a horrible, horrible event.

Kakashi had a soft smile on his face, which couldn't be seen at all because of his abnormally high-collared shirt – it was too high, too high to be called even a turtleneck. He preferred angry Sasuke more than broody Sasuke. Angry Sasuke had a tendency to be funnier than broody Sasuke in his opinion. But he usually kept this to himself. Angry Sasuke could also be rather violent.

Sasuke stomped to where his house was, a huge scowl on his face. The area around him seemed somewhat dark – Kakashi swore that he heard thunder and saw a spark of lightning from afar. He was a walking omen in the opinion of the other Uchihas in the vicinity. Oh, well. He could do whatever he wanted as long as he didn't hurt anyone enough to send them in the hospital or in a clinic.

_Cowards, the bunch of them_, Kakashi thought as he looked at the other Uchihas who were steering clear out of Sasuke. Then again, it wasn't as if he could talk. And, then again, it wasn't as if anyone else could hear his thoughts. Last time he checked, the Uchiha did not have any espers.

Though it was quite a sight seeing Sasuke marching to where he lived. It wasn't often that he got _that_ angry. He usually looked bored or calm. His favorite expression, of course, was the good ol' poker-face.

Kakashi was definitely having the time of his life. Who knew that making Sasuke pick up his books or returning them would lead to something as amusing and entertaining as this!

Frankly, Kakashi had forgotten what exactly he made Sasuke do, not that he cared much about that. All he cared about was the _effect_. The _cause_ wasn't as important as the effect.

... Or, yeah, he was growing old. Really old. And like other old people, Kakashi did not like to talk about his age. Not that he really was old or anything.

When he got his head out of the clouds, he found that he was now near the house where they lived. He also found yet another interesting scene.

There was the one and only Uchiha Itachi regally sitting – though it was lost on Kakashi as to how the man could make even sitting on a meager wooden, well-polished stair step – on one of the steps that led up to the large and traditional-styled house that they, meaning Sasuke, Kakashi, and Itachi himself, occupied.

And there was also Sasuke who was standing still, _very_ still, in front of Itachi.

Needless to say, Sasuke was shocked. No words would come out of his mouth. He couldn't even _think_ of anything to say or want to say to Itachi. To _his brother_. It had just been... far too long. Far too long.

Writing letters was one thing, but actually talking to the person was a very, very different thing.

Itachi had changed a bit. His hair had grown longer. Not by much, but Sasuke could tell that it had grown. He had burned the image of Itachi before the man left to go study or do whatever it was that he was supposed to do abroad.

Itachi's skin had also darkened slightly. Back then, the two of them were of the same pale complexion. Now, Itachi was acquiring the beginnings of a tan, a_ healthy_ tan. It wasn't much either. In fact, Sasuke doubted that a lot of people would notice.

Sasuke could also see that the bags under Itachi's eyes were larger than they used to be. That, too, was something that could easily be bypassed by people when they looked at him. But Sasuke noticed. He always noticed.

That was the thing with most people. They could endlessly admire someone and throw at them praises that could make just about anyone blush like an overripe tomato, but they wouldn't be able to notice the slightest of changes in their object of admiration.

At that moment, Itachi was the only person that Sasuke could see, could _sense_. He had been the only person that could appeal to all of Sasuke's senses.

And at that point, Sasuke was desperately trying to shake off that accidental – in his mind, he still blamed the whole thing on the idiot – kiss.

He didn't want anyone else to... to affect his life. Kakashi and Itachi and his best friend of sorts were already enough for him. He didn't want more people. He didn't want to let _strangers_ in. No, not at all. Trusting strangers would be his downfall. And that was what Uzumaki Naruto was. Just a stranger. Nothing more and certainly nothing less.

After a few more minutes of brotherly staring, Itachi stood up, made his way to Sasuke, and said, "Sasuke."

That seemed to snap Sasuke out of whatever state he was in.

"Why are you back?" Sasuke asked a little too softly for him to like it. Itachi probably thought that he was going to go all emotional soon. Not cool.

He wanted his brother to see him as someone who could finally stand up on his own. He didn't need Itachi's smothering overprotectiveness anymore. He wanted to be _equals_ now. Equals.

"Do you not want me to go back here?" Itachi asked.

One of the reasons why Sasuke admired Itachi was because his brother was cool and calm at every situation. There wasn't a hint of emotion in his face. But now, this talent of his was becoming quite a bother for Sasuke. The boy couldn't decide what Itachi was feeling so he didn't know how to act appropriately.

Uncharacteristically, he decided to just _wing it_.

"Aren't you supposed to be away for a few more years?" Sasuke asked.

That was the statement that kicked in his logical side awake. Yes. Why was Itachi back so soon? Itachi was not one to disregard his duties and ambitions for even family – this fact, of course, greatly saddened Sasuke, but he forced himself to accept it for that was how it would always be. This was very fishy business.

... What if someone had threatened Itachi to go back to where he came from?!

No, no. That was impossible. Sasuke internally shook his head. Itachi just wasn't _threatened_ by people. He was usually the one who did the threatening, be it intentional or not. Then again, everything with Itachi was planned.

"I finished early," Itachi said.

"Oh," Sasuke said. That sure would explain it. Itachi was a genius, after all. "Then... why didn't you, well, tell me?"

It hurt, really. Not knowing anything at all. Even if Itachi was trying to _surprise_ him, it would still hurt. Even though it did mean that Itachi was now home, it still hurt. Sasuke just didn't like people keeping things from him. He was sickened by the notion of not knowing anything. God, he wasn't a _child_ or anything.

Sasuke licked his lips, suddenly finding them dry. Anticipation could be seen in his eyes.

Kakashi slinked away. This was getting far too heated. And it wasn't even the kind of heated that he liked!

Couldn't Itachi just have some sort of out of character moment and say, "I wanted to surprise you!", and then that would be followed by an equally out of character Sasuke saying, "Really, Ita-nii?! I love you so much!" At least then, Kakashi would be enjoying the... connotations of such words.

Itachi was quiet. _Everything_ seemed quiet. Sasuke was nervous. It had been a while since he'd been nervous.

"Because I thought that perhaps you'd like it more if I was here myself to tell it to you," Itachi spoke after what seemed to be a million years. "Let's go home, Sasuke."

He turned his back on Sasuke and started walking towards their house, grabbing the handle of his suitcase and trolley as he passed them. Before he could put a foot on the first step of their porch, he felt a slight tug on the back of his jacket.

"It's... it's really nice to have you back, Itachi," Sasuke said, his voice suggesting that he felt somewhat awkward at saying that.

He released Itachi's jacket from his grasp.

As corny as it was, Sasuke had never been happier when Itachi said, "It's nice to be back." The barely-there smile on Itachi's face went unnoticed.

Kakashi, who was leaning on one of the large wooden beams of the house that he and Sasuke and Itachi lived in, grinned as he turned a page of his book.

* * *

"And how do you feel about this, Naruto?" Neji asked. 

It was lunchtime of the day after what seemed to be Naruto's worst day of the week.

"I don't know! What should _I_ feel anyway?!" Naruto exclaimed. "All I know is that I'm angry at him! Or, yeah, something like that. I can't explain it, really."

After a few minutes, he uttered what he had been saying for quite a while, "Stupid sensitive stuck-up bastard."

Shikamaru let out a sigh. Naruto saying that Uchiha Sasuke was a bastard – or any other evil-sounding name that he could affix to Uchiha Sasuke or the thought of Uchiha Sasuke or anything of the sort – was nothing new at all. He did it quite often. But now that Naruto knew what his... rival-in-love looked like, his "Uchiha Sasuke is the Anti-Christ" – and what was even more funny was that Naruto didn't even believe in Jesus Christ – rants became even more annoying and harder to not pay attention to for some reason unknown to Shikamaru and the rest of Naruto's table-mates during their breaks.

Though Shikamaru got the idea that Neji secretly liked to hear Naruto ramble on and on about his frustrations. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Neji wanted to take Psychology when he went to college and that he was using Naruto as his test subject of sorts.

Shikamaru looked at Neji, noticing the twinkle in those eerily pupil-deprived eyes. It definitely had something to do with Hyuuga's course choice.

"Look deep inside yourself, Naruto," Neji said, "and I'm sure that you'll find the answer."

Naruto blinked owlishly. The hell was that supposed to mean? He had no time – and, admittedly, brain power – to decipher Neji's words of wisdom.

Neji sighed inwardly. Weren't all teens supposed to know what that _look deep inside yourself_ shit meant? Wasn't that something emo and angst-ridden? And weren't those two terms something associated with teens? There was definitely something wrong with Naruto.

"Just... eat," Neji said when he figured that his friend would _never_ figure out what his words meant.

Naruto was more than happy to oblige. He dug in his first bowl of instant cup ramen that had been filled with water that he'd bravely pilfered from the faculty yet again. Most likely, a teacher of theirs was mourning the fact that they were deprived of coffee and they wouldn't be able to handle the brats that they taught.

"But, seriously, what should I do?" Naruto asked as he slurped noodle. "I mean, him 'n me are supposed to go spend..." he scrunched his face in thought, trying to think of a suitable word or term or whatever it was that he could use to describe what in the world he and Sasuke were doing, "quality time together and all."

"Ignore him...?" Shikamaru suggested. The very way he talked already said what he thought about the whole matter. Utter bullshit, really, but he couldn't stop himself from putting his own two cents in. "I'm sure that he'd return the favor, too."

Lee gasped, sounding very much as if what he'd heard from Shikamaru was something scandalous.

"Shikamaru! You can't possibly say that!" he exclaimed. "To ignore another person... it is rather cruel of you!"

"Well, Uchiha ignored everyone else, too," Shikamaru said, all the while hoping that Lee would just _stop the topic_ at that and let him go back to his napping. Damned mouth. Running off without his brain. Damned Naruto, too, for making him answer and cause all of the fuss Lee was making.

"I'm sure that... Sasuke is merely... _shy_."

Naruto choked on his ramen. He dropped his ramen cup on the table – without spilling a single thing, too – and started flailing. He was also coughing and hacking the ramen that he had eaten.

He was also internally crying for the ramen that he'd wasted.

"... Lee, what the hell did you just say?" Kiba asked.

Lee, having been used to foul language now, looked at Kiba with question in his eyes.

"I merely said that perhaps the reason why Sasuke is so antisocial is because he's too shy to interact with other people," he said.

"That is just... wrong, Lee, wrong. Sick and wrong," Naruto said, finally getting his breath back.

"No, just, _no_," Kiba said at the same time. "I swear to god that you've just broken some sentence pattern rules there since _Sasuke_ and _shy_ don't fit in a sentence. Unless it's with _isn't_."

"I beg to differ," Neji said. "Sasuke isn't not shy."

"Neji's right," Shino said, taking a short break from his observation of the ant line that went from the end of their table where he was seated and to the wall that was beside him.

Ants were fascinating creatures. People just had to take the time to notice them.

Kiba merely frowned. Did those two _have_ to take everything seriously?

"Guys, let's just go back to the original problem," Naruto said. "How the hell am I going to survive another afternoon with the bastard without trying to kill him?"

Shikamaru sighed.

"Like I've said, _ignore_ him," he said. "He'd probably be happier that way, too."

"What if he insults me or something?" Naruto asked.

"_Ignore_ him."

"... He does something that manages to lower my pay?"

"Where are you working at today?"

"Still the ice cream shop."

"Let him do it. And while you're at it, quit that job, too." Shikamaru had wanted Naruto to stop working at the ice cream parlor for quite a while now. It was a bit obvious that the owner didn't exactly like the blond.

Chouji, who had wisely stayed out of the topic and dutifully ate his bag of chips, slammed his large hand on the table, deftly surprising most of his table-mates.

"Naruto, whatever happens, don't _ever_ quit your job at the ice cream shop," he said with such force that Naruto quickly nodded and solemnly swore to never ever quit his job at the ice cream shop.

Chouji went back to eating his chips. Naruto went back to irritating Shikamaru who honestly did want to ignore Naruto but didn't since he knew that Naruto would merely irritate him even more if he did that.

"Have you tried busying yourself with your work?" Neji asked. "It'll help you not get in contact with him and make your – what did they call that? – _boss_ happier with you."

Neji came from an insanely rich family and hadn't been quite exposed to the notion of having a boss since his family _was_ the boss.

Shikamaru blinked. And then promptly went to take his nap, feeling like an idiot. Well, Neji could certainly handle the problem.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto heatedly stared at each other. Sasuke was standing right in front of his car's door and Naruto, of course, was standing in front of him. 

"Teme," Naruto growled, obviously having forgotten that he was supposed to ignore Sasuke so as to avoid any casualties.

"Dobe," Sasuke replied in a much calmer tone that Naruto's.

They continued to glare at each other.

Kakashi then popped up in front of them and clapped his hands.

"There, there, get in the car now!" he cheerfully said. "Don't want Naruto to be late, now would we?"

"I wouldn't mind. I'm not the one working," Sasuke grumbled.

Nevertheless, he opened the car door and went inside. Naruto followed and closed the door behind him. The two of them gave each other a last glare before they scooted into their own corners, making sure that not a single part of their body would touch.

Even though they wouldn't say it, it was quite obvious that they had been rather surprised – traumatized, to be more exact – by yesterday's _outcome_.

Kakashi thought that it was just because the two of them were being their adorable, in denial selves.

He softly chuckled as he opened the door to the driver's seat. Oh wonderful. More of his tasteful shouta paradise.

All of a sudden, the day seemed brighter than the usual.

* * *

Naruto put on his work clothes and greeted people with a grin. He served tables. He cleaned tables. He was nice to everyone. He had to be. It was a part of his job. Then again, even if it wasn't a part of his job, he'd still be nice to people. 

He glanced at Sasuke before he gave some kid a banana split.

It just wasn't fair.

There was the bastard, just sitting pretty and yet he was able to get the attention of almost everyone inside the store. He didn't need to smile to make people like him. He didn't need to do good things for good things to happen to him.

He didn't need to do anything to make Sakura like him.

It really wasn't fair.

Naruto had been pining after Sakura for a long, long time. A lot of people had been pining for her attention and her love for a very long time. And yet she spurned them all – but in a gentle way, of course, since she was Sakura – all for the attention of Uchiha Sasuke.

And Uchiha Sasuke never gave her any attention. But she still wouldn't give up. She was determined to make him hers.

Perhaps Naruto admired her for that. Falling in love with someone who'd most likely never love her back and someone who thought that she wasn't worth anything.

Suddenly, he, being the person who switched moods just as fast as a couch potato changed channels, became angry at Sasuke. He just... really couldn't help it. The bastard could at least be nice to his admirers.

While Sasuke was at it, he could also leave Naruto's mind alone since he really was making Naruto think more than he usually did.

He looked at Sasuke again. That was when a girl approached Uchiha with a shy smile on her face and clutching something behind her. A... letter? Naruto scrunched his face in thought. Oh, he knew this scene. He'd watched this happen to Neji before.

The girl said something to Sasuke and handed the letter to him with quivering hands. But he didn't accept it. Oh no he didn't.

"I don't like you," rang loud and clear in Naruto's ears. And so did the hand-muffled sobs of the girl.

Naruto didn't know what exactly he did, but after that, a scoop of chocolate ice cream was flying over the air and landed on Sasuke's head. It took a few painfully slow seconds for Sasuke to register what had happened. He gritted his teeth in anger.

Kakashi gritted his teeth, too. But that was because he didn't want to laugh since, as mentioned before, angry Sasuke could be very, very violent.

Sasuke retaliated with vanilla ice cream. It had hit Naruto on the face.

It was cold. It was slimy. And it was ruining his uniform.

"B-B-Bastard!" Naruto exclaimed.

He reached for some strawberry ice cream on the table beside him – on the back of his head, the cries of a little girl could be heard, but he ignored that – and raised his arm to throw it at Sasuke who was looking at him fiercely, almost _daring_ him to throw the scoop of gooey ice cream. But before Naruto could move, someone held his wrist, the one that was holding the ice cream, in a grip that he just swore was going to break his bones.

He winced. The ice cream fell on his head, too.

He looked at Sasuke, thinking that perhaps the bastard was smirking. And he was surprised to see that Sasuke looked surprised.

Kakashi was surprised, too, but in an amused way. These days, he was almost always amused. And he owed it all to Uzumaki Naruto.

"What... are you doing to my younger brother?" someone asked in a low voice that was just _whispering_ death threats.

Naruto gulped and faced the speaker. Dark-colored eyes bored into his blue eyes, into his very being.

_Oh, shit_, was the only thing that registered on Naruto's mind.

That was how one Uzumaki Naruto came to know the existence of one Uchiha Itachi.

Talk about intimidation, huh?

* * *

Seeing as how everything ended up being, it's most likely going to be the start of a crummy relationship.

* * *

And then that's it for this chapter! I do hope that it was enjoyable to read.

Thank you very much to all who've read this chapter and will comment/review on it. Thank you also to those who've, er, put this in their favorites and/or alerts and also to those who've reviewed the previous chapter/s. It's really very much appreciated as I wasn't at all quite certain that this would be come even the slightest bit loved.

Comments about character portrayal and such will be very much loved as they also help me shape up the characters.

And, um, to those who commented about the grammatical or word usage mistakes... er... I've forgotten the mistakes and so if... um... you're still rather happy to tell me what those mistakes are, I'd very much like to fix them. Please and thank you!


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